A large portion of a Brentwood neighborhood tree has given way and has collapsed onto the residential street, causing a large physical hindrance for all oncoming traffic.
What makes this a concern is that the tree collapsed on Aug. 1 and nothing has been done to clear the hazard.
Brentwood resident Vince Deadrick said the majority of the crown of the tree had fallen right in front of his home in the 300 block of Beloit Avenue.
Deadrick called the city to notify the authorities on the Saturday that the tree collapsed, but because the call was made on a weekend, he was eventually transferred to the Department of Transportation.
Caution tape and cones were eventually placed around the fallen foliage, but authorities have yet to take any significant action.
“I was told that the city would take care of it,” Deadrick said. But because no action has been taken, he has already called the city three times. As of today, the tree remains sprawled on the street.
“There’s been a lot of honks,” Deadrick said, “which means that there have probably need a lot of near-accidents. I almost get hit backing out because I’m blind spotted [due to the tree].”
Deadrick also pointed out that the fallen tree could potentially act as a huge fire hazard.
“If someone happens to throw a cigarette in, all of a sudden we got a big fire,” Deadrick noted.
As for the cause of the collapse, the Brentwood resident hypothesized that the 30-year-old tree most likely “just got too big” and “broke from the weight.”
Deadrick said that he contacted Westside Today in hopes that authorities would be reminded to take action.
